


Nor Pirate, or Theif; but Heroes

by yesiamanowl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family, Harm, New York, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Puppies, Season 4b AU, attempted suicide, done before 4b, fire fighter! AU, friends - Freeform, modern day hook, modern day robin, probably wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-01 17:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4028200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yesiamanowl/pseuds/yesiamanowl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU!verse of Once Upon a Time season 4B. One queen of darkness has fallen but Maleficent takes her revenge on Emma by setting a death curse on her beloved pirate boyfriend. In order to save Killian Emma has to send him across the town line.T for occasional bad language (mostly in the later chapters) and suicidal themes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cold as night

1 Storybrooke lay quiet in the night, its inhabitants sat laughing together as they revelled in Cruella’s fall in power, unaware of the fact that a fellow queen of darkness was waiting to strike into their hearts as revenge for her fallen sister. Her aim was simple- to get the saviour away from her followers and set a death curse on her so that she would not be able to interfere with their plans any longer. Maleficent sat upon a cliff that overlooked the town, her face twisted in disgust. She wanted to strike but Rumpelstiltskin had told her that if they waited long enough, the saviour would eventually come out of Granny’s and would most likely only have one or two people with her. It was unclear to her just how Rumpelstiltskin would know that it would just be one or two at best; for the saviour seemed to have a constant pack of people following her, including a pirate, her son, her sons adoptive mother, robin hood, her parents and their little brat- so why on this night would she only have just one follower? TP her delight she didn’t have long to wait for just as the Dark One had said; she only had two people with her; her son and her pirate. She knew the son would be no problem and duck out of the way- but her pirate could potentially cause her a problem. No matter to her of course, for even though she only had enough power to cast one curse, either way the Saviour would fall; whether it be literally or by her heart- she would fall.

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I sat in the Charming’s usual booth at Granny’s, marvelling at the sight in front of me. For a start I was actually in the booth rather than outside it; a sign that they had indeed welcomed me into the family (However I didn’t believe it was my dearest Swan who talked the others into letting me in, but rather her son, Henry, who I had taken under my wing and acted as a father figure for the lad), and everyone was happy and smiling; for one of the queens of darkness had fallen. Cruella De Vil was no longer a threat to Storybrooke, and she was who we had believed to be the ring leader of the little group- so we were rejoicing, believing that we were safe for a little while. How wrong we were.

Emma and the lad had recently moved into an apartment down by the docks, a small but well sized place, that had room for more family if it ever came along. I spent most of my time over there with them, whether that be learning about the modern world from the lad, or cooking with Emma; either way I spent most of my time over there despite the fact I still had lodgings at Granny’s. That night after Cruella had fallen, Henry and Emma had invited me to move in with them- an offer I simply couldn’t dream of rejecting, for I had finally found the thing I had lost nearly 300 years prior; my family.

The lad was rightfully tired after the day’s events, and wanted to get me and his mother back to the apartment so we could all get some well-earned rest. They said their goodbye’s and good night’s while I went to collect what few possessions I still had after losing the Jolly Rodger. I was still amazed at that I had managed to come full circle within myself, from being the lonely street rat whose brother spent more time at sea than with him, to the young man, who knew the stars better than he knew himself whilst surrounded by people he could safely call his family. Then I was the pirate, alone once more, with only a few of his once immaculate morals in place. And now I was a better man, with a family who actually wanted him around, and I could not be happier to be that man.

I looked around at the now empty room in Granny’s and smiled- for I was finally moving on from a world of pain to something better. Upon getting into the main diner section of Granny’s I could see my Swan and my lad waiting for me so we could finally make the journey back to their new place together- however a shill in the dark cut what was a pleasant night short. In the moonlight I could clearly see Maleficent materialising in front of us, so immediately moved to get Swan and Henry to safety, however we didn’t get very far because the witch had put a protection spell on the door meaning that we couldn’t enter the building to get away from her.

“You really thought that I was going to give you a way out of this Saviour” She spoke bitterly through her gritted teeth. The idea that we were going to be safe from the queens of darkness had been shattered as though it were glass.

“Get away from them you bitch” I shouted. I wanted to stab her so badly with my cutlass, but it was not to hand, for it was in the back of Charming’s truck. Just my luck I thought to myself. The one moment I needed my sword to protect my family and I didn’t have it.

“Oh my dear captain, acting like a hero now are we? We both know that you are a villain by the book”

“And we also both know that that is in past. I have changed to be a better man- the pirate Captain Hook is no longer. It is Killian Jones now, just as it once was”

“And there was me thinking that I may have a possible ally in you” She glanced down to the magic swirling in the palm of her hand, a sly smile spreading across her face as she said “You may not have been the original target, but you will most certainly be a good use of it!” her voice went from sly to a scream within a matter of seconds before her hand directed the curse forward towards Emma and Henry- however I had always had reactions that were faster than what was humanly possible, meaning that I was able to jump in front of them both just as the curse was about to strike.

The first thing I felt was a piercing of cold, running from my heart to the rest of my body, my body shaking to it, then I heard her laugh piercing the still night air and drawing everybody out from Granny’s. I could hear Emma screaming at me, saying Hold on. I could see Henry, the shock of what he had just seen scaring him to his very core- for the only man to ever act like a father for him had just jumped in front of a death curse to save them both. I could feel David and the dwarfs lifting me up, taking me away from the road side. I could see the world grow hazy around me, my senses becoming more dull as my life force slowly drained away- meaning that I couldn’t hear the location of where I was being taken, but it was most certainly not the hospital. As my consciousness began to fade I could see the rough outline of trees, and various cars along the road. But I was gone when the destination was reached.


	2. The journey

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A killer headache was the last thing that Robin had needed that evening. Marian had divorced him as soon as she found out what a divorce was, run off with another man and he had managed to get her pregnant. Rowland had been left in his care, that part he was alright with; but the part that had driven him to drink like Killian was the fact that he could never get to see his true love Regina ever again. His heart ached in his chest for that small fact. Had it not been for Rowland he would have never realised that his phone was ringing (He was too deep in his wallowing and self-pity), and it was none other than Regina calling him.

“Regina! I thought I would never hear your sweet voice again”

“How close are you to the town line?” She asked, with fear lacing her every word. He could tell that something was incredibly wrong to warrant that kind of fear to Regina- The woman was scared of nothing.

“Yeah, I’m close…. Do you need me to go there? Is someone coming across?” Confusion was taking me over, for nobody wanted to leave Storybrooke- not without one hell of a fight.

“Yes, but you’re going to have to get there quickly- he may just die before you get there so hurry!” The phone line cut out and I was left in near silence. Immediately I paid the bill for Rowland and I’s drinks (He had some juice whilst I had had some strong tea- with a little bit of rum thrown in) and ran to the town line. I had to carry Rowland for he couldn’t keep up with me and in no time at all we were standing where the town line of Storybrooke _should_ be. I couldn’t be sure but just before the man crossed the town line, I felt close to Regina, and in that moment I knew my love for her would never end.

At first all I could see was a dull glow; almost impossible to see if you weren’t paying close attention to what was in front of you. Next came the sound of crying- more specifically Emma and Henry’s, and from that alone I could tell someone closely associated was being pulled across the town line. What happened next happened faster than the blink of an eye- for out of nowhere none other than Killian appeared, barely breathing and unconscious. It only lasted for a moment for he began gasping for air- just as if he had been drowning on land. Once the sputtering stopped, He finally had a good look around him, he saw Rowland and I and it all clicked for him. He was over the town line, and somewhere on the other side his love was most likely standing watching him break, and despite the fact he was trying to keep it together, I could see quite clearly that he wasn’t.

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The darkness soon turned to light as I felt a heavy weight come off my chest, but all I could feel was the sensation of drowning; as if the water was stuck in my chest and the air was long since gone, with panic creeping in the back of my mind. But once the initial need to clear the imaginary water from my lungs was gone, I was able to see where I was. A place that I had never wished to go without Emma if she and Henry decided they were going. I was on the other side of the town line, in the world without magic, away from those who I had finally come to call my family. I looked up and saw none other than Robin and Rowland staring down at me, concern covering their faces in place of their usual happiness. Robin just looked at me with eyes full of pain and understanding, for we had both been forced across the town line and were away from those we truly loved.

I stood on the town line for what seemed like seconds, trying to figure out why I was here- and then as Robin called me to say it was time to go I realised **EXACTLY** why I was on this side of the town line. What I didn’t expect however was a small pack that was lying discarded where I had turned up. Inside were three passports (one for Robin, one for Rowland and one for me), three airline tickets, a wallet (which held a fair amount of money, _my_ driver’s license (?), and something that Emma had referred to as a debit card with a four digit number attached to it), a form for a pre-school that was for Rowland, and two letters saying that Robin and I had been accepted to try for the jobs of firefighters over in New York. Each of these items were confusing me to no end, but at the same time they were showing me what I was going to do with my foreseeable future.

Robin took me to where he and Rowland were camping at that moment in time- a small clearing in the woods that happened to be right next to the airport that our plane would be leaving from the next day. I gave Robin the items that were meant for him that I had found in the small satchel, but it was not the items that were confusing him- it was the fact I was handing them to him with my previously absent left hand.

“Where did your hook go?” Rowland asked, in the adorable way that he would usually drive towards Robin and Regina if he was confused by something.

“Well…. Miss French found it in her ex-husbands shop, brought it over to the loft where the Charming’s and I were enjoying a quiet moment, and requested that Emma re-attach it to my body”

“So how come you were thrown across the town line like that? You looked like you were dead at first”

“Maleficent…. Emma, Henry and I were on our way to her new apartment for the night and she hit me with a slow acting death curse. I’m guessing they threw me across so that I would live- although being away from Storybrooke isn’t really living. Not for me” Robin just looked to the floor after hearing that story, and he looked like he was going to ask another one but instead said that he wanted to hear everything when we were on the plane tomorrow. I nodded in response, my heart aching too much to form a proper answer.

The following morning resulted in us packing away the camp into Robin’s bag and setting off to the near-by airport to catch the plane that would take us far away from Storybrooke and to the city of New York to begin our new lives as fire fighters. The plane ride there was eventful seeing as none of us had ever been on a plane before, but it also gave Robin and I a long period of time of which we could catch up on everything that had happened to each other. I told Robin of how I had had my memories altered when I was thrown over the town line (namely being knowing how to drive, and every abnormal memory had a normal double of it- including why I had left town in such a fashion. Robin told me of how Marian had cheated on him with another man and gotten herself pregnant leaving Robin once more with Rowland who had just gotten used to having a mother around. The rest of the journey followed suit, Robin and I exchanging stories, and enjoying having a friend around for a change, for we had both been a bit lonely on the friend front.

Upon landing at the airport we were greeted by an extraordinarily large amount of people, all jostling around, getting on and off the infernal contraptions that they had just spent a multitude of hours flying in. The city that awaited them however was even bigger than they first thought. Robin went to find a map in one of the airports many shops so that we could find a way to get to the fire house which we had the possibility of working at. Whoever had packed the pack had evidently put a spell on it, for now it held more pieces of paper- namely two sets of sheets called CV’s (????) which had our supposed previous jobs. I read through the list that had been issued to me and smiled, for they had included “First officer on HMS Valiant- 7 years” as my main job. Something that did show many qualities that could prove useful for me getting the job. I didn’t have time to read the rest of the sheet however for Robin had found the address and gotten a car outside for us.

The building loomed overhead almost as a constant reminder; _we will never be able to go back to Storybrooke._ The driver soon pulled over in front of a red brick building, that had three large red trucks facing towards the street, and many men dressed in navy blue and black. I paid our driver and he drove off, leaving us to enter the fire house. Little did we know however, It would be one of the best decisions we had made since we left Storybrooke, even though it would hold the darkest of our days.


	3. The tests (and a man-sized puppy)

**_Please feel free to leave a review, or if you have an idea I will happily take it and try and do something with it! And welcome to my little Owl family!_ **

A week after our arrival at New York’s fifth fire house, we were preparing for our physical examinations to check that we were indeed fit for the job- we had already passed the personality and psychological examinations, and all we had to do was show that we had great fitness, all before the final test of a fire drill. Robin and I had almost shared responsibilities when it came to Rowland- I took him to his new pre-school in the morning before my jog, whilst Robin would go for his jog in the afternoon before picking him up again.

The fire chief had been letting us stay in one of the apartments that belonged to the fire station, meaning that we, for the first time in our lives, actually had somewhere to drop anchor in the evenings. It was on the eighth floor in the apartments opposite the fire house itself, meaning that the firemen who lived here would be able to get down to the station quickly if there was an emergency that required every man they could get. The chief, also known as Derek Small was a kind man, and had given us extra time between our examinations because of Rowland, but also to give us time to settle in to our new environment; he himself knew how hard it was to move from a small town to the big city.

“You ready for the tests today?” Robin yelled from the other end of the apartment, for he was getting into his fitness gear, ready for the examinations that we would endure today. We had our medical physical examinations first, which would last for an hour, then we would be subjected to a two hour fitness test, consisting of an hour of running, a strength test, before a gruelling test which would be done by running up as many flights of stairs as we could manage with added weights to simulate a person on our shoulders.

“About as ready as I’ll ever be” I yelled back, but my mind was in another state altogether that morning. I was, once again, thinking of my Swan. Her beautiful blonde hair shining in the sun, Henry’s smile when I took him out sailing, hell I even missed my drinks with David down at the White Rabbit when the football was on (I refuse to call it soccer). But mostly it was just Emma I missed. To be fair though I missed every part of Storybrooke- the thrill of defeating another villain, helping the dwarves down at the port, aiding Belle in the library, babysitting for little Bae (I know that his name is Neal but I will always call him little Bae)(it was a wonder why when they asked me of all people to babysit for them whilst Snow, David and Emma all went out for dinner), and every other small but incredible moment that I spent in that small little port town.

*

We managed to beat every test that was set by the Fire House with spectacular colours, and went beyond with both speed and strength, and the dreaded stair test? It seems us running up and down the flights of stairs with little Rowland had been paying off big time because we managed to beat the record of most weight taken up and down the stairs **with** the fastest times. To say the least we both got offered the chance to do an actual fire drill, a final test which we would have to pass if we were to get the jobs. Derek was almost certain that we would both get the jobs, so he offered me the apartment that was four floors above Robin’s, that was more commonly called “the bachelor pad” by the others in the fire house- but that was only because it was on the top floor with the best view. Not to mention the previous fire fighter who had lived there had installed sound proofing meaning he could have really loud music on for parties but not disturb anyone else on the floor. It was a small, yet open space that had a view of fifth avenue on one side of the wall to wall glass, with the main window panel facing the fire station, a constant reminder that this would be my new life- a simple firefighter, who was completely normal in every respect. The thought of being normal was weird enough in itself- I was more used to chasing villains, running the port, and being with the Charming’s and their extended family in general. _I wonder what Henry is doing with himself now? Will he continue sailing? And will Emma still join him on occasion? Will the guys still go for their weekly drinks down at the Rabbit Hole?_ So many questions filled my mind, but I knew that I would never get any answers. That was the way the curse on the town line worked. If a person crossed the town line, they would never be able to return to the town, nor would any form of communication be able to reach those within the town’s borders. Meaning I couldn’t even contact them to say I had managed to find a job, or that I had apartment, or that Robin and I were working together again. This was one change that was far from good for my heart, but it most certainly one that would be good in terms of me becoming a hero- for maybe then, if the curse was ever lifted, I would be able to return to Storybrooke with my head held high; I would return a hero (in at least one sense of the word, because I would be classed as a hero out of the town, but I would have to chase a fair few villains before I would gain that status).

Our land lady was a kind old soul, who was also hiding something behind that desk of hers. Little did I know that what she was hiding was actually a little catch to this apartment.

“Mr Jones, can you please open the door, we need to discuss some _details_ about your apartment” Her voice screamed through the door, aware of the fact that it was sound proofed. The sight that met me was nothing that I was expecting however when I opened the door. I was met by the land lady, and a small Dalmatian puppy.

“He belonged to the previous tenant, and it was his request that his puppy went to the next firefighter who lived in this apartment.”

“Well no doubt he will grow into a great man sized puppy. What’s his name?”

“His name is Monty. You should find all his stuff is in the third cupboard from the right in the kitchen. It was also his request that the next firefighter was to get this letter” I hadn’t noticed the letter she was holding up to that moment, too busy being occupied by the small but playful Dalmatian puppy that was running around my feet. “Oh, and before I forget, Monty is house trained, just really, really active; so if you go for your runs like you did last week make sure you take him with you”

“Thank you Mrs…”

“Hudson. Mrs Hudson”

“Well I thank you for dropping off this delightful ball of spots and I shall more than likely see you tomorrow on my way out”

“Good night Mr Jones” She closed the door gently behind her, but not before one of the other tenants gained her attention from across the hall. I had only seen them briefly before now- The son Alex, had very little mobility, and was confined to his wheel chair each day. His mother was a civil servant in the mayor’s office, meaning she wasn’t home very often. In the four hours I had had this apartment, I had seen her twice; Once in getting Alex into the lift to get him back to the flat, and then again as she was leaving once more to her job. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the boy, for not only did he have no freedom to go places, he was alone for the most part. I debated whether or not to knock on the door and become acquainted with the boy, but instead I decided to read the note that the previous tenant had left me.

_To the next firefighter who resides in the flat 8D,_

_I trust that you are a great firefighter, whether you’ve had experience in this trade or not, because Derek only puts the best of the best in this flat. And for the fact that you have moved in here, means that I have died. As Mrs Hudson should have shown you by now, this flat comes with a slight… complication. And by complication I mean my puppy Monty, and my neighbour, Alex. Alex suffers from motor neurone disease, meaning with each passing day, he grows weaker and weaker; gradually losing the use of his limbs. Alex’s father was a bastard, I’m not gonna lie, he was a monumental dick. He refused to have anything to do with his son after he was diagnosed with his disease, meaning that his mother, Catriona has had to do double shifts at work just to pay for his medication, leaving the boy by himself._

_The only light in Alex’s life is art (and Monty). He loves to come into the flat and sit by the window drawing whatever comes into his mind, whether that be fictional or something he has seen that day. I’m not asking you to become a surrogate parent for Alex (Even though Catriona, Alex and I would be eternally grateful if you did), but I am asking you to allow him in so that he can keep the light in his life. If you ever have to do a night shift at the station, just knock on their door (8B) and ask for Alex to sit in and watch over Monty. He may just run your foot over if he has been cooped up for a while in a bid to get out, so watch your feet._

_Another warning that comes with this flat- It has soundproofing making it the guy’s favourite place for holding a party. “The bachelor pad” as they all call it has been the traditional place of all firehouse parties. I would like you to uphold this tradition as it will get you acquainted with all of your new colleagues, but it will also allow you to meet those who are important to them (generally girlfriends and wives, but I shall warn you this- they will try their best to set you up with everyone who the deem your “type”). Mrs Hudson is alright with the parties being held because of the sound proofing that I had put in- although you can only start the music and the noisy activities when the door is shut and everybody is in. Again, just leave Monty with Alex for the night and get him in the morning, it’ll all be fine._

_I know that moving into New York can be difficult, as is moving from place to place within this great city- for its easy to get lost in its streets- so I always kept the newest map of New York on the wall so I would know where people were referring to. You will probably have noticed by now that there is a blank wall right by the door that links up the window/wall. I have a request that you may think is crazy, but I want you to do it. When you save someone in a fire, or help them out in some way, they generally come down to the station to come and say thank you, but I want you to uphold my tradition- to get a photo with everyone you save, and on that blank wall, show everyone that you have ever saved. I say this because I know how it is, to be alone; and I did this bizarre practise to show me reasons why I should keep hold onto the life I lead, why I should never give up. My depression wasn’t the thing that killed me (most likely a car accident or a fire, but I would never kill myself), so if you have it, I want you to do everything in your power to stay alive, because somewhere, out there, is someone who loves you. Even if they themselves don’t know it yet._

_Good luck at your new post as a firefighter at New York’s fifth firehouse (the best one in the city for general badassery and charitable deeds) and for your new life with Monty and Alex._

_Michael Taylor_

Michael’s letter, although it was written in a general form, almost felt like it was written for me. It was like he had known that I was forced from a place that I could kind of say was home. And the last part, all I could think of was my Swan, for I loved her more than I could say, and even though we were further apart than ever- I was certain my heart had stayed in Storybrooke with her.

My thoughts didn’t stay like that for long however for I was more or less assaulted by the small ball of spots called Monty, who was more like a small child when I thought about it- He was extremely excitable one minute and then asleep the next. I chuckled to myself, with only one thought running through my head. _Rowland is going to love this puppy so much._

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Two days after Killian and I’s fitness evaluations we were headed to the fire drill test. We would be shown how to use the equipment, and then we would have to put out a staged house fire in their training sect a couple of miles away from the station. Rowland had been especially excited to hear that I was becoming a firefighter. Well, in-between his hyperactive out bursts that were apparently normal for a five year old to have. Moving him to New York had been a good thing- for he was now in kindergarten so I was able to do the training that my new job would require.

Killian had introduced Rowland and I to his new puppy that had been left by the previous tenant, and Rowland had instantly fallen head over heels for it- for it meant he could have something small to play with whenever I had to leave him with Killian. What Rowland was not so happy about was sharing said puppy with Killian’s new neighbour Alex. It wasn’t because of Alex’s disability that Rowland didn’t like Monty being with him- it was because he didn’t want to share his precious time with the rambunctious pup that had landed in Killian’s care. To say the least the feeling was mutual- for Alex also loved playing with the puppy whenever he could; leading the two to have an unlikely friendship.

In all the time that I had known Hook, I had never seen this side to him personally before. This kindness which only ever seemed to be saved for children. I had heard about it from Henry, Emma and Regina, but never did I see it until I left Rowland with him and Alex. His barriers were still up, but he was a lot kinder than I had ever known him to be- I mean he had always been friendly to me, and shown me nothing but kindness, but this kind of kindness was certainly not what I expected from a 300 year old pirate who was more well known for killing people and being ruthless rather than being this man who loved kids and was incredibly good with them.

And I certainly had never pictured him as a hero until we were in Storybrooke. I had heard of some villains from our world going good, but Killian had gone straight from being a villain to a hero. He had given up everything, and had become so good that he couldn’t turn back to piracy. And after a bit of thinking I could understand as to why Killian had wanted to become a firefighter in the first place. It was a way to prove to others (and himself) that he could be a hero, and that he could be selfless.

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**24 hours later**

With our jobs secured and roofs over our heads, Robin and I could safely agree that this was one of the best times for us, even though we couldn’t really fell it seeing as both our hearts had been left behind in Storybrooke with our retrospective lovers.

From my apartment I could see the busy streets below me, filled with life at all hours, and the roads always noisy with cars. Despite the cloudless sky that night, I couldn’t help but see the dark cloud looming over me.


	4. I want the end

Days turned swiftly into weeks, and the weeks into months once Killian and Robin had joined the fire house, for they were being kept ever busy by their work and by the retrospective beings that they looked after in their own time.

Killian’s once small puppy was getting close to be full size, but was completely well behaved; much to the surprise to everyone who met him, and he grew closer to the young lad who lived down the hall, caring for him as a surrogate father figure- and that always kept him on his toes. Robin relished the quiet moments when his jobs of being a firefighter or a father, these moments generally being very late at night or early in the morning when he had been on the night shift.

But however both men tried, they couldn’t fill the emptiness that had resigned within their hearts since they had left Storybrooke. Their minds would be filled with the sight of their true loves whenever they closed their eyes, forever haunted by two of the most perfect women in creation- two women who also happened to be in a town which they could never return to, no matter how badly they wanted to return.

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I tried to bury my mind in my work at the firehouse, taking as many shifts as I could, pushing myself to the limits in order to stay (relatively) sane; for whenever I closed my eyes, I could see an angel in my eyelids, a halo of blonde hair and a smile unrivalled in all the realms- but I knew that I would never lay my eyes on my angel ever again, for she was practically in another realm, a place like the one I now resided in, but with all the magic of the enchanted forest.

Robin had been the first of us to take any time off, on the same week that Rowland would have off school so that he could take him camping to the closest forest he could find. I was the first to learn to drive so I took them there, and brought them back. Derek would often tell me that I worked too hard, and that I should take a break from firefighting sometime and take a week off. And every time I would respond with _a true hero never rests_ and after that he would just give up trying.

But however hard I worked, I could never get rid of the feeling within my heart, a feeling which made me feel as empty as I had when my brother died; I felt alone.

I had been outside of Storybrooke for eight months, and the “wall of the saved” was mostly covered. In each photo was myself and the person (or people in most cases) that I had saved. Occasionally one of my colleagues would be in the photo with me, but most of the time it was just me. Looking at the photos, I can recall the words that most of them had said to me- mostly because they all said the same thing; _If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be alive_ or _If it weren’t for you my son/daughter wouldn’t be here_. But however many people I saved and however many people called me a hero; I could never feel it in my heart. An almost fatal floor in my character.

But I’m not lying to myself when I say Robin and I have had some fun along the way- for instance when the entire firehouse was invited to a fancy dress party- the only consolation was that you had to dress up as comic book characters (When we had arrived the boys at the station decided to get us both into these thin, picture based books. They explained to us about two main comic book companies, as well as some of their most famous characters. Something that we took to heart to learn as much as we could so that we could at least seem somewhat normal in this modern world). And of course our friends decided that it would be funny to make fun with Robin and I by making me dress up as Batman (Inside joke of the firehouse for I would often hang upside in the door ways doing fitness exercises. Soon after they discovered I did it as fitness, they decided to buy some “bat signals” so that if I was wanted for a non-urgent/semi-urgent matter they could activate whichever one I happened to be closer to) and they made Robin dress up as well…. Robin. Little Rowland decided he would be the Robin for Monty’s Batman- for as the firehouses mascot it was more or less expected for him to be brought along. What neither had expected was for Derek to give my new car a paint job so that it was now black and blue- somewhat appropriate for those were pretty much the only colours I ever wore (except for the yellow fire overalls that I wore on jobs).

*

This particular night had been exceptionally gruelling. We had had to team up with the police department to catch an arsonist, whilst I was rescuing one of the hostages I had managed to capture the illusive arsonist- and all this just went to remind me of a time when I once used to chase the villains with the heroes. By Emma’s side; the place that I should never have left.

On nights like this, I very rarely was able to keep myself from having a breakdown, where often Robin would find me the next morning. But tonight, the sadness was darker, and bigger than I had ever felt before. All I wanted was for the cracks in my broken heart to make it stop.

I looked over to my kitchen to where I could see the drawer where I kept my knife. Arising slowly, I could feel that for once my heart and my mind were working together- they wanted the pain to end and a knife to the chest certainly seemed like a very sure way of stopping spotted organ that lay in my chest.

Opening the drawer, I could see the last remnant of my father. Its smooth mahogany handle stemmed an intricately carved blade, still shiny after nearly four hundred years. Typically he had given the blade to Liam, but Liam had left it to me when he was poisoned by the dreamshade, and I could clearly see the sea shell that I had carved into the cold steel for his memory. Its handle was cold from sitting in the drawer for so long, and it felt good to have at least some form of control in my life once more.

I resumed my position on the floor by the door, and took another glance at the blade. _What would Emma think? What would Liam think?_ My thoughts were threatening to consume me into a fit, my experience with it enabled it to stop. So without a further thought, I raised the blade to be level with my heart, and awaited for the end.


	5. An unexpected visitor

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Tonight was a particular difficult night for Killian. We had been sent to opposite ends of the building to retrieve the people who were trapped inside with the psychotic arsonist who the police had been trying to catch for weeks, but as I was coming back down, Killian not only had a gaggle of hostages behind him, but also the arsonist who had caused all this trouble unconscious on his shoulder. I could see it in his eyes, the memories he was reliving, all of which included a certain blonde saviour who happened to be with my own true love. Pretty much everyone in the radius of three states had heard of Killian- some even journeying from their homes just to meet him. And every single visitor would say exactly the same thing- “I’ve always wanted to meet a hero” and Killian would always shrug off the compliment, refusing to believe that he had achieved whilst he had been in New York.

It didn’t matter who you talked to in New York- they all knew his name and sang his praises; but nobody knew the darkness within him, eating him away like an unwanted rot. Whenever someone noticed he was off he just put on his mask made of solid steel and pretended that everything was fine, when in reality- Killian Jones was a broken man, a man encased by darkness of the mind (not in his heart for it was as pure as the sea), but I was the only one who could see it.

I was helping Rowland with his homework when I felt something was off, and not in a good way. Since Killian and I had worked together we had begun to develop a form of a sixth sense- one that told us when the other was in trouble, and because I knew he was in his flat, I knew **exactly** what he was going to try and do. Sprinting out the door and up the stairs my mind reeled back to the first time I had gone in and found him in this situation….

_Six months ago_

_The door to his flat was partially opened and Monty was howling, a sense of dread filling my veins. I was glad that on this night of all nights Rowland was at one of his friend’s houses, because it meant he wouldn’t have to be there if the worst happened._

_He was slouched against the wall, his father’s knife resting in one hand, whilst a rather potent bottle of whiskey was in the other. His eyes were glassy and red, the tear trails lining his aged face, marring its surface. He could barely talk but neither could I. We were all we had left of our old lives, and we were trying to build our new ones. But the darkness that lined our minds was strong. At least I had Rowland to keep the darkness at bay, his joy and wonder providing me with the strength I needed- Killian had no-one like that. Alex had been in hospital that week, having an operation of some sorts that would make his life more comfortable, and Monty was unable to speak so he had nobody to voice his feelings to, nobody to chase that darkness away. I made a reminder to myself to try and spend more time with him; I just had to make sure that he survived for us to figure it out. I managed to talk him down from trying to kill himself, and put the knife and drink away, leaving just the two of us in the darkness, both struggling with the lives we now lead. I wished that there would never be a next time._

I was standing at his door by the time the memory had played through- but this time Monty wasn’t on the landing howling, and the door was closed; but the feeling of dread was only becoming stronger and stronger. On opening the door I could see him in exactly the same position, in exactly the same place- only this time the bottle was gone and the knife already level with his chest. Seeing in slow motion, I drew my own knife and disarmed Killian with a well-aimed throw, knocking his knife to the other side of the room- but he didn’t move. He didn’t make a noise, even when I was kneeling beside him, trying to coax him from this trance like state.

“You shouldn’t have done that Robin” he murmured- so quietly that a normal man wouldn’t have heard it, but even with it being near silent, I could still hear the pain lining his voice. He had wanted tonight to be his last, so he could get away from the sadness that had eating his insides since he left Emma’s side. Something I could relate to very much.

“Well nobody else was going to do it you idiot, so it may as well have been me”

We didn’t speak for the rest of the night, but Killian did join Rowland and I downstairs in our flat- something that Rowland really enjoyed because he got even more attention whenever his uncle Killian was around. And by the end of the night he was happier, and felt like he could go on with his life for a bit longer- and he gave me his knife so that he wouldn’t get tempted to just go into the drawer and end it all. But neither of us could have anticipated what was in store for us the next day at the firehouse.

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After last night’s ordeal I was glad that Robin would have the same day shift as me today. It meant that we could go down together and- providing there were no calls- leave together. The quiet cool of the apartment’s lobby was welcoming in the early morning- for nobody was there to ask me any weird questions or to try and coddle my dog (he was a puppy no longer, for he was fully grown but thankfully he still retained his puppy like playfulness).

On entering our work place, we both stopped and listened to our surroundings. There was complete quiet within the building this morning, meaning only one thing. Our co-workers had once again decided to play a little prank on us and had probably moved our stuff around (they would move more of Robin’s belongings because they were all terrified of me- and they were terrified of me for I had gained the nickname hook (not from having one, but because I could break a man’s jaw and knock him out in a single punch- something they had learned when we were being held hostage by a bank robber and his gang). This meant that I would only have one or two items missing at best whilst Robin would have to find his entire locker). Upon reaching the locker area, I could see three lockers were open and abandoned, thankfully mine not being one of them, and a couple others already beginning the hunt for their misplaced belongings.

The rest of the morning was fairly quiet, meaning I would be able to do the exercises which gained me the nickname of “Batman”- despite the fact I was almost certain he had never hung upside down like an actual bat in any of the comics. Little did I realise that a bat signal was about to be sent, signalling me to go to Derek’s office, where I would get a visit from the impossible visitor.

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I had just about found every misplaced item when I hear an impossible voice. He was talking to Derek, saying about how he was a sheriff in a small town in Maine. But the only thing going through my mind was _what in god’s name are you doing here David? Did you get thrown out of Storybrooke like Killian did? Is there another villain who needs our blood and is threatening your family? Like what the hell David?!_.

I strolled into Derek’s office without David noticing me, meaning I could check that it was actually him- and it was. Meaning that I would have to talk to a guy who I haven’t seen in ten months and had no idea on how he felt about me. Derek saw me contemplating leaving when he called out my name, shutting David up in the process. He was pretty much the same as I had last seen him, bar the fact he probably hadn’t shaved for a few days.

“Long time no see, Robin!”

“What the hell are _you_ doing here **Mate**?”

“Some stuff came back up at home and we kinda need you and Killian back” The speed of the delivery of his words was a clear sign to me that that was a blatant lie, but Derek spoke before I could respond

“Well you can have one or the other, not both so make your mind up”

“What do you mean one or the other?!” David was almost shouting by this point, and Derek was just shaking his head. The chief turned to me, motioning for me to summon his lordship from whichever door way he had taken to this morning.

“LIGHT UP THE BAT SIGNAL MEN!” with those six words every light in the corridor went off, and I could hear a muffled ‘bloody hell’ emanating from the fitness room, meaning that Killian could see the bat signal. A couple of cheers later and the batman theme started playing, signalling that a certain captain was making his way to our position. In all fairness I was slightly worried about what his reaction would be, seeing David again and not Emma. I was just hoping that last night’s incident wouldn’t affect him too badly today.

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When I arrived in New York, I realised just how simple my mission was. I had been sent to retrieve Storybrooke’s two missing men- both who had been thrown/crossed the town line when it was still cursed. Ten months Robin had been missing for Regina, and eight and a half for Emma- little did both men realise the conditions of their lovers when they left; because if they had known they would never have left.

Finding them was easy- provided that their faces were pretty much on every local newspaper for something they had done. Without really thinking I picked up a copy of one of the papers and took it with me to a nearby park to read the story that had put them on the front page. The title was a bit odd, but it still made sense;- “New York’s favourite heroes save fifteen hostages **AND** capture the arsonist/murderer that has terrorised our streets for weeks- Could they get any more perfect?” But it wasn’t the title that really caught my eye. It was the picture that they had used of Robin and Killian- they were both more muscular than when I had last seen them (not to mention they still had all their limbs), and were in more modern, more casual clothes than I had ever seen them in; Robin had been wearing a polo shirt with the fire house logo on with accompanied with some navy blue jeans, whilst Killian was wearing a navy blue plaid shirt, with a grey t-shirt underneath, his traditional black jeans and boots were the only thing that was the same as when he had left Storybrooke.

Their facial expressions were happy, but their eyes suggested that they were far from it. They both had a sad expression in their eyes, the same kind of expression that we would find on the lost boys from Neverland. When I read the article, I realised that they had gone above and beyond their terms of service, and had worked with the police to rescue fifteen hostages and capture an arsonist who had been evading the police for a year, killing nearly forty people in thirteen separate fires across three states. The police had no idea on how to capture him, but Killian had stepped in, found him and captured him within a week of joining the investigation. Not to mention he tried to (unsuccessfully) give all the credit to the police and his men, but everybody could see that he was just being humble and that in reality he had been the one who had done all of it really.

Once I had completed reading the article, I discovered what the address was of the fire house the worked at, and thankfully it wasn’t too far away from my current position at the park.

In pulling up to the firehouse, I could see that it was nothing out of the ordinary. A simple red brick front with lots of windows on the upper floors, whilst the open doors showed room for three fire trucks, but only two were in their spaces. At the back of the room I could see piles of equipment being cleaned and cared for, almost ready to be loaded back into the trucks and to leave the station. On stepping out of my truck, I could feel the glares from those inside already, as if they could sense that I was here for their ‘golden boys’. Needless to say they sent me to the chief’s office when I asked about my friends, being friendly in a passive aggressive way, as they were trying to figure out if I was here for a good reason or for a bad one. “So. You’re the brother of the woman who broke Killian’s heart correct, David?” the chief said without even glancing in my direction. He had seen me come across the street, but how he recognised me was beyond my evidently small thinking capabilities.

“Umm… yeah I’m Emma’s brother, but how do you know who I am?”

“He has photos of you in his hall way. A constant reminder that she threw him outta town for a reason he will never know. Don’t take this personally, but your sister is a bitch. Killian has tried to call her and text her every single day since he’s worked at this firehouse. She’s never replied, or phoned him back- she’s left him hanging for nearly nine months. So what do you have to say to that?”

I was left wordless by that speech. Is that what Killian remembered of his leaving Storybrooke? Did he not remember that it was to save his life? But then again… he wouldn’t have tried to contact her again, that often unless he remembered the truth.

“Well…. I am surprised that he has been trying to call us for so long- but I’m here because we too have been trying to contact him for the past three months and not a single word has come back to us”

“Touché. I threw Killian’s old phone off the wall there and told him to get one that wasn’t from the middle ages, but he still remembered every single contact number that he had saved on there- something that would prove infinitely useful when the police came to us looking for help on the case of New York’s worst arsonist in one hundred years. He managed to retain every word they had said over three hours and pieced together not only how he was setting buildings on fire so quickly, but where he would strike next. Lo and behold, the arsonist did try to burn that building down, and he had hostages- but what surprised everyone was that Killian wasn’t just able to pin point the exact building, but the **exact date** too. The man is impossibly brave and strong, and happens to be the best problem solver I have ever met. You were lucky to have been friends with him. Speaking of which- maybe you can shed some light on something I have been wondering for a long time now; what exactly was your, Killian and Robin’s jobs back in Maine? For the boys always change the subject whenever we bring it up. Even when we feed them alcohol”

“Well…. Killian was Emma’s deputy along with me, and Robin was kind of a good at everything man, he would help the fishermen if Killian was, he would occasionally go hunting and grab some venison for our towns butcher, he helped out at the station at times…. And Killian generally helped everyone who needed it whenever he wasn’t working”

I saw Derek glance behind me at this point, for someone had entered the office- what I didn’t expect was it to be Robin who strolled through the door. He stood tall, taking it all in for a minute- most likely wondering why the hell I was here when they both probably believed there to still be a curse on the town line.

“Long time no see, Robin!”

“What the hell are _you_ doing here **Mate**?” He sounded so much like Killian in that moment I began to wonder just how much time they spent together- and where Rowland and Marian were.

“Some stuff came back up at home and we kinda need you and Killian back” The speed of my response clearly gave it away to Robin that it was an all-out lie and that I just needed them both to return to Storybrooke as not to leave Emma and Regina waiting. I could see Robin was about to reply but his boss stepped in with a reply first;

“Well you can have one or the other, not both so make your mind up” He replied coolly, as if it was completely normal to just say I couldn’t take them both back to Storybrooke with me.

“What do you mean one or the other?!” I was starting to worry now for them both, making it sound like I was almost shouting. I saw the chief look to Robin, motioning for him to do something, but as I turned around to see what he was doing, I was perplexed almost instantly because he walked to the door and leaned out before shouting

“LIGHT UP THE BAT SIGNAL MEN!” From down the corridor I could hear a few laughs and a muffled ‘bloody hell’ in a very familiar accented voice. A moment later I could he the batman theme being played through the tannoy. My confusion didn’t last long however for in just a few seconds a certain pirate captain walked through the door, dressed rather casually in just an exercise shirt, some trousers and trainers; but despite his wardrobe change I could still recognise him, as well…. Him. He still had the scar on his left check, and the scar that remained after Emma returned his hand to his body, he stood taller than I remembered, for he was no longer slouching, making me realise he was an inch or two taller than I had previously thought. Confusion was etched into his face, marring the three hundred year old features that made up his face. He glanced to Robin who just shrugged and then to his and Robin’s boss who also just shrugged. He was about to say something when an alarm went off signalling for them to get to work. Robin ran out the door and started yelling orders, whilst Killian just pointed upwards whilst looking to the chief before running out and joining the other men. Within a couple of minutes the two trucks had left the station and were already speaking the comms that were connected between the fire trucks and the office I was standing in. After giving them an address the chief turned to me, with some sort of what looked to be a hotel card and a key in his out stretched hand.

“Eighth floor, number 8D. These are the fire house keys to Killian’s apartment, wait there for him. I have no idea what time he will be back, but it could be anywhere between two and seven. I really wouldn’t wait around for him though so I suggest getting some lunch, then busying yourself for the afternoon. Then maybe go up to his flat depending on what time it is. I’m sorry if the men were looking at you oddly when you walked in, it’s just we’ve not seen anyone from Killian’s past, especially not anyone related to the lady who he still loves after nearly nine months of being away from her. Enjoy your visit to New York Mr. Nolan.”

I turned away and did just as he had said. I made a couple of calls back to Storybrooke to see how everyone was; Regina was once again struggling with life as a single parent, and Mary-Margaret was having a right old time with Emma, Belle, Ruby and baby Neal. I found out that Belle had also sent Gold to come to New York to give Killian a message and to try and bury the hatchet with the pirate whom he had tried to kill for three hundred years. I also found out Henry had decided to come to New York to see both Killian and Robin- I wasn’t sure whether or not he actually had permission from either of his mothers, but I realised that it was too late for that for he would be here by tomorrow morning. I knew I would have to tell Killian to pick him up- but then I began to wonder…. What kind of car did Killian have? I noticed on the wall of the fire chief’s office there was a picture of Robin, himself, and Killian all standing with the mayor as well as two sports cars. I made a reminder to ask him that later.

It was five when Killian eventually rolled in, his face still covered in soot, coupled with a weary expression. I let him grab a drink before I bombarded him with questions.

“What are you doing here David? Did they throw you over the line too?”

“No, actually, Emma and Regina sent me”

“Oh really? I doubt that somehow. Emma would never send her own father somewhere where he cannot return to”

“Well…. I can understand why you would think that but the curse on the town line has been gone for three months. I’m only here now because we discovered you and Robin were somewhere here in New York City”

“Well we weren’t exactly hiding- half the people in America know who we are. And where we work for that matter- so how the hell did it take you **three months** to find us when most people do it in three days. **Riddle me that** **David**.”

“Did you just quote batman?”

“Yes and you still haven’t answered my question”

“I’m shit with the internet”

“You don’t fucking say”

“Well you may want to stop swearing by tomorrow because Henry is on his way here”

“You mean Emma and Regina are coming too?”

“No its just him. Although I am hoping to dear lord that he asked them first because they may just kill him for it when he gets home”

“Fine I’ll pick him up in the morning. Where will he be and at what time”

“The airport at 8. What kind of car do you have? In your bosses office there was a photo of you, he and Robin with a couple of really nice cars”

“I have the prototype Jaguar XE, rather nice and lots of space. As a prank to go with my nickname of batman they had it painted black and blue the day before we had to go to a gala as people from DC comics. To say the least neither Robin or I have lived it down yet”

“That’s supposed to be a really nice car- I’m surprised you got given a prototype; anyway I’d better be off to the hotel because I have a feeling that you’ll be wanting to just crash and think things through” “Damn straight David. Damn Straight”


	6. Henry's arrival

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The rest of my night was filled with worries and wonder. _They had been looking for me? Henry’s going to be here tomorrow?_ The thoughts batting around my mind like a ping pong ball in a match of table tennis, neither willing to give up and making for an immense head ache. I picked up my phone and discovered that David had left his number in the keypad.

“David?”

“So I see you found my number. I’m sorry for earlier, if I sounded a bit rude; it’s just… a lot of things have happened whilst you’ve been gone from Storybrooke”

“And a lot of things have happened at this end so I think we can just write it down as life screwing us over as usual. I was wondering… I could pick you up tomorrow morning before I go to the airport to pick up Storybrooke’s favourite teenager”

“Sounds good. Although once he’s been in your car he’ll never be content in my truck ever again”

“Well get used to it”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Well the boy is most likely going to be here to see Robin and me and will not leave until he has spent some time with us. So when he eventually gets back to you all in Storybrooke he will have been spoilt in terms of riding in sports cars”

“Okay I guess that makes sense. I’ll send my hotel’s address to you- see you tomorrow Killian”

“Bye Dave”

“It’s Dav…”

I hung up before he could finish. To say the least tomorrow was making out to be an in interesting day.

**The following morning**

I grabbed David’s attention with a few revs of the engine in my jag, and to say the least the look on his face was comical.

“Okay your car is even better than I thought it would be. Henry is going to love it, and the fact that it is basically the bat mobile.”

“Ha ha David. Now you can either be quiet or I can rev the engine really loudly to drown you out”

“Rough night?”

“Well you see I had an impossible visitor telling me that within the space of twenty four hours I would have at least one more impossible guest on my door stop so yeah you could say it was a pretty rough night”

“I bet it was”

The airport was filled with busy passengers and taxis, people landing and leaving every moment. But only one person was filling my mind. _Henry_. He would be at those doors at any moment.

“David, I need you to find him. I’ll just gather attention when you both walk out”

“Got it”

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The airport was busier than I had anticipated it to be- but then again this was New York, and everywhere was generally busy. Both my mom’s had called me to say that David would be picking me up from the airport, and that they’d be seeing me soon. Fat chance in hell if that was going to happen- I had come here to see Killian and Robin, and spend time with them; and I wouldn’t be leaving until I had.

“HENRY!” I heard being yelled by a certain grandpa of mine.

“What took you so long?” “I’ve been standing here for ten minutes trying to spot you”

“Okay fine. Where’s your truck then?”

“I didn’t drive here”

“What do you mean you didn’t drive here? Did you get the underground?”

“You’ll understand when we get outside”

Well… he wasn’t wrong. Upon stepping out the doors you could see hundreds of cars- but one particular one caught my eye; a black and blue jaguar. I only spotted it because it was revving the engine really loudly.

“Can you guess which car we are in yet?”

“The yellow cab by the Jag?”

“Not quite- that Jag is Killian’s car. He came with me to pick you up- that’s how I didn’t drive here”

“Wait…. Killian has been expecting me? He’s here!”

“Yeah kid. Slow down you don’t want to land on your face in a rush to see him”

“Oh let him be David, if he wants to see me that is fine by my standards”

“KILLIAN!”

“Hello Lad. Care to tell me why you essentially ran away from home to New York?”

“Ummm…”

“Okay we’ll get to that bit later but for now bags in the back, and David? Henry’s got shotgun”

“What!!”

“Aww Yeah!”

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After picking up Henry from the airport I dropped off David at his hotel- he had said he needed to make a few calls. We had just reached my apartment when Robin called to say that Monty was back at the station for me to pick up as well as some more people who had travelled just to see me (seriously, I never get a break from those kinds of people).

“Well Henry- however much I would like to sit and go through the last nine months with you I can’t because I need to pop into the station. Fancy joining me?”

“Sure that sounds cool. So where’s Robin?”

“On duty right now, unless there has been a call. Then god knows where he’ll be.”

Henry was quiet for the most part, as if he was scheming something behind those mischievous eyes- a trait which he had picked up from his father. We had just walked into the station when the companionable silence was broken.

“So glad you could finally make it Killian- I don’t think I can last another minute surrounded by the fan girls. Henry? What are you doing here! You’re supposed to be in Sto…. In Maine. You’re supposed to be back in Maine”

“Well you hold fire here with Henry Robin whilst I deal with the never ending line of fan girls that manage to find their way in here.”

Robin looked slightly awkward with Henry as I rounded the corner to where some of the public were waiting. Also Monty was there- and with no surprise jumped up to see me after being gone for a few days. The conversations were the usual. _I’ve come a long way to meet you. I’ve always wanted to meet a hero_ Yada Yada Yada. I was flattered at first by their comments- but now? Now it is just a usual Tuesday morning for me. Thankfully one of the other men saw that I was desperate to leave and distracted the girls long enough for me to grab my dog, and get back to Henry.

“What took you so long?” Henry asked, not bored, but curious in manner

“You think **that** was long? We’re usually forced to talk to them for a lot longer than that so I say well done to escaping so quickly”

“Yeah well… I knew I had someone waiting on me on this side. On the plus side Henry, you can now meet my dog, Monty. No Monty SIT!” It seems my perfectly behaved dog had decided to turn off all manners in greeting Henry and was already trying to give him a hug. Could today get any stranger?

 

In short it could.

I had taken Henry to the park, and gotten him some lunch when Robin texted me to get back to his apartment ASAP for he needed to see me but it wasn’t life or death. Henry was happy to go along with it- until we reached Robins apartment that was- for awaiting us inside was David, Robin and Rowland, all of whom I had been expecting to see; but then there was another impossible guest. One who hated me to the point of nearly murdering me in the not so distant past. For standing in Robin’s lounge was none other than Rumpelstiltskin himself.

However instead of looking at me like I was his worst enemy whom he had been trying to kill for centuries or like I was from another planet- he looked at me with sorrow and sincerity in his eyes.

“Killian…” Robin started

“Shut it Robin. If that demon wants to explain himself then he does it himself. What do you want crocodile.”

**Dum dum duuuummm. Gold is back and this time in the flesh!!**

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	7. All I ask

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Killian walked ahead of Rumpelstiltskin, to get some clear thoughts into his head before he would have to talk to none other than the bloody dark one in his apartment.

_Did I really get so unlucky? My past has just come back with a goddamn vengeance, so how fitting is it that the one man who has wanted you dead for more than 350 years just happens to turn up after Henry and David._

"Well, captain, New York has certainly treated you well" The crocodile called, pulling me from my darkest thoughts. _I should have stopped my heart when I had the chance_

"Stop talking in riddles and tell me what the bloody hell you are here for"

"I wanted to say sorry. I have done some... unsavoury things to you in the past, and I would like to take a leaf out of your book"

"Oh really? And what leaf is that"

"I want to bury our hatchet- and this time not in your skull"

“Who the hell are you and what have you done with Rumpelstiltskin? For the last time I checked he was one of the ones involved with the attempted murder on my life. Or is all this a hoax hmm? Are you doing this to try and gain Bell’s forgiveness? Only to break it once more when you inevitably try to kill me again”

“I speak the Truth Hoo… Jones. Jones I speak the truth. I gave up the dark curse about a month after you left- Belle told me that I could either have another chance with her without the curse, or I could keep the curse and she would never talk to me again. So I chose to be with her, but when the curse lifted… I felt like a demon had been released. I felt the same way I did all those years ago, when I was with Milah, when I first met you- and that is when I realised. I realised that I had let the curse control me, whilst giving me the impression that I was in control of my actions. And I realise that what I have done in the past is horrific, especially to you… But I stand here before you begging for the one thing I truly do not deserve. Forgiveness.”

“Well this is odd”

“What is? The fact I have fallen? Or the fact I am sorry for what I have done?”

“Neither. You called me by one of my actual names and I have to say you have never done that before. So say I believe you… and I give you forgiveness… would that mean you are in my debt?”

“Yes. Most would see it as inconsequential, but I would be in your debt for your forgiveness” “I need you to deliver a message to Emma. I would send it with David but Emma would think it was a lie, but with you… my greatest enemy… she may just believe it.”

“What is the message?”

RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL

Killian had just gotten through the door when I saw his eyes darken _so that’s what Emma and Regina meant by “Hook taking over”_ I could see Henry was somewhere between questioning and unsurprised by his grandfather’s arrival.

“Killian…” I began, trying to explain that I had no idea that he would be here

“Shut it Robin. If that demon wants to explain himself then he does it himself. What do you want crocodile.”

“I just want to make peace” With that Killian walked out of the apartment, leaving the door open as a motion for Gold to follow.

“He wants you to follow him”

“But he stormed out” Henry rightfully pointed out

“But I know him better. Him leaving the door open is him motioning for you to follow him. I think he just wants to do it out of hearing range, or in the sound proofing of his home when they start arguing.” Gold finally realised what I was getting at and promptly left to go to Killian’s apartment.

“I talked with Derek, David, and he is allowing me to go to Storybrooke on two conditions”

“Name them, I will comply. Convincing Emma and Regina shouldn’t be too hard”

“That he comes with us and we are there for three days”

“But that would mean…” “Only one full day in Storybrooke I know- but those are the terms”

“Fine. But he better not complain when he has to drag you from Regina’s arms” I could only laugh in response. I would finally get to see my true love again after over ten months of absence. Both Killian and I had talked it over, and he was okay with it. I had been away longer; therefore he thought that I should be the first to return, if only for a few days.

**The following morning**

The sun was shining brightly in the sky that morning, but I was convinced that I would have thought it was that way even if it was raining- because in just over 12 hours I would be back with Regina. It was only then that I began to feel something. It was like what I felt for Killian when he was in trouble, but weaker, and for someone I couldn’t see. I couldn’t pin point who it was exactly, but I just had a feeling that they would inevitably be in Storybrooke.

“Ready Rowland?”

“Wes Papa! Does this mean we get to see Mama ‘Gina again?” I smiled at Rowland, for despite how many times I told him that her name was Regina, he would still call her Mama ‘Gina.

Walking outside I could see David leaning on the side of his pickup truck, waving off Gold whilst waiting for us all to be ready to leave. Killian was on a job at the moment and so he wasn’t there to say goodbye.

“So… I was wondering, as sheriff of this town you would know where all the emergency services are correct?” Derek called out to David, walking from the fire station with a tiny travel case.

“Yes I do… I’m guessing you’re going to enquire about the fire department?”

“Yes. I would like to see if they are open to transfers” Both David and I stood staring at him, confusion marring our features. “I’ll tell you both later once I find out if they are”

Derek didn’t wait for a response before climbing into the back of the pickup and getting himself comfy. Rowland followed suit quite quickly, getting his pillow in the right position before curling up and falling asleep. David and I climbed in last, before setting off from the place that had somehow become my home over the past eight and a half months.

**14 hours later**

“Hey, Robin” David called quietly, trying not to wake up a sleeping Rowland and Semiconscious Derek

“We here?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna drop you off at Regina’s house- she’s expecting you and Rowland so you better not keep her waiting”

“Thanks David” I clambered out of the car when we stopped, waking up Derek, but thankfully not Rowland. David went and knocked on Regina’s door whilst I was picking up Rowland, Derek passing me all Rowlands stuff.

The door opened practically immediately, and I saw my angel in all her beauty. Her black hair was slightly longer, but there was something else that was different about her that I just couldn’t place.

“Robin...” Her voice came out more like a plea, or a silent prayer said in the darkness of night, her eyes shining like jewels in the most beautiful crown.

Her gentle arms pulled me and Rowland close closing the door behind us.  Our silence of the house was comforting unlike the loudness of New York.

But the silence didn’t last long however for a small but loud cry rang through the house.

“What’s that Regina?”

“That is the little one that was stopping me from sleeping, I swear she gets that from you” My heart stopped beating in my chest at that last part. Everything now made sense. David had been searching for us to return us to our loves, and me to Regina and this new little one.

“You… You…Had a c-c-child?” My voice was unsure and broken, as I spoke to her.

“yes, I wanted to tell you before, but I couldn’t reach you”

“What’s her name” I asked as we reached the nursery, the tiny one in the centre

“Rain. Rain Hood, or Locksley, whatever it is that you have been going under”

“Either one is good, as long as I am with you”

DSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDS

The night previous had left me more confused than I ever had been in my life. The way Robin and Regina were together…. It was like they were true loves or something soppy like that.

David had kept his promise and taken me to the fire station, and it was there that I had an interesting conversation with the fire chief, who was rather excited with my idea of a possible transfer of two of my golden boys.

I was sorting out some of the paper work for the first transfer when a blonde lady walked in, who I instantly recognised from the pictures in Killian’s hallway. **_Emma._**

“Are you Derek? Killian’s boss?”

“Closer to friend but yes. And you’re the lady who had broken his heart into a thousand pieces, so much so that he would try to contact you every single day with no response” Emma looked down towards her feet as I accused her of the obvious, before she motioned to the chief to let her in. When I was able to see her completely, my breath hitched.

“He doesn’t know, does he?”

**TA DA! I hope you guys like the cliff hanger! (between like and completely hate it because you want to know what is going to happen *Smiles evilly***

**See this box here? My creative flows really enjoy it when they know what YOU think**


	8. The past is gone

**ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER AND AN EPILOGUE!**

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A week passed without incident in New York, and Henry was happier than I had thought he would be, seeing as he was away from all his other family, but he always had a smile on his face. The first night he was here, Alex came over to draw for a while, and both boys sat and talked for hours (or so I have heard- I was on shift that night so I wasn’t able to watch over them), and when I came back in the morning, I found all three in some form of uncomfortable pile on the floor asleep, Monty laying over both of the boys, Alex in his wheel chair with Henry leaning against it, needless to say I took a fair few pictures of the spectacle, both my surrogate sons getting along. I was surprised when Henry wanted to come along to some of the events that I was chartered to do that week; including a day of paintball ( _Does this mean I have permission to shoot you? Why would you possibly want to shoot me Henry, but you can’t because you’re on my team!_ ), A formal dinner with the mayor ( _So pretty much a normal day of the week for you Henry? Hahaha- You look like a penguin Killian_ ), A charity car race between all the guys at the station ( _Perhaps you’re in the wrong profession Killian. What do you mean by that Henry? Dude you just owned everyone else, you should’ve become a racing driver! Ha! Not gonna happen Henry_ ), and of course, I just had to take Henry out sailing ( _Just like old times, huh Henry? So what are we waiting for? Let’s go!_ ). I smiled at all the good memories I had managed to make in such a small space of time, of course I was still sad for the distance between me and Swan and what had happened just before Storybrooke came barging back into my life, but Henry knew how to make me feel better about life, and it made me sad to think that within a couple of days he would be returning to Storybrooke, back to Emma’s side whilst I was stuck in this concrete jungle.

I knew that Robin would be back in a few hours, meaning that Henry would go live with him, or would leave to go back to Storybrooke. I wanted to spend these last few hours with Henry, but I still had to go to work like any other day, and that meant leaving Henry and Alex alone again (I was just hoping to god that I would come back to the flat in a somewhat tidy manner when I came off shift- last time I had left them alone just two days before, I had come back to the flat to find it looking like a mud bomb had just gone off, Henry , Alex and Monty siting at the centre of the mess, all looking quite pleased with themselves). As I waved to Henry and Alex, I realised just how much Henry had begun looking like Baelfire, and I thought of he would react to the relationship I had with his son, if even in the afterlife he still hated me. _Snap out of it Jones! You have a job to do!_ I was hoping that there would be no jobs today so that I could get back to the boys on time, but just as luck would have it, there were three, meaning I didn’t get back till seven when my shift finished at three.

By this time of course Robin and Rowland were back, as was Alex’s mother, meaning that my apartment would be empty. And that was something that I didn’t want to participate in at that moment in time, so I headed straight for Robin’s apartment, however the sight that greeted me was not one that could have ever expected.

“What’s happening Robin?” I glanced around at the cardboard boxes which had materialised since my last visit into his apartment not too long before.

“I’m moving back to Storybrooke- and I know this is short notice and I am sorry that I didn’t tell you before, it’s just been mad”

“But what about your job? Are you just going to leave us all behind?”

“I’ve had him transferred over to Storybrooke’s fire department. The paperwork will be finished in a few days although you did miss one significant detail out Robin” Derek had turned towards Robin, expectant for him to say something in particular.

“Oh yeah, that. Well…. As it runs out Regina was pregnant when I left and hadn’t told anybody until after you left. Her name is Rain” Robin pulled out his phone to show me his new daughter, but I didn’t pay attention to it. I something like that had happened in the time we had been away, what else had happened? Something could have easily happened to Emma within that time and I would never have even known about it. Although if it had surely Henry would have told me about it, right?

“…Earth to Killian? Hello?”

“Sorry Robin, just tuned out there, what were you saying?”

“I was saying that you should come to Storybrooke once my transfer is done, see everyone again

“Maybe… I want to… but I don’t know Robin. I mean I miss everyone more than I can say, but I don’t know if it’s best that I return”

“What do you mean Killian? Everyone would be ecstatic to see you again!” Henry chimed in, his enthusiasm knew no bounds (it’s no wonder that he has the heart of the truest believer).

“What I mean Henry is that I didn’t exactly leave Storybrooke on the best of terms with everyone. Just tell them all I said hello.” I turned to go towards my apartment, concealing the feelings that I had thought were gone for at least a little while longer. My love for Emma had been one of the only things keeping me going whilst I had been in New York, and I had always thought that I would jump at the chance to see Emma once more; but it no longer felt right. I was not the man who had left, and she had loved him. _She may still love you now if you gave her a chance, how do you know she even loved you in the first place? Yes there were feelings but how do you know if they were true? Or even if she still reciprocates them? Look how fast she moved on from Neal and Walsh, she could have easily moved on from you and multiple others by now_. My thoughts were blurring together like sand in the sea, but they all had one under lying prompt. **_You’re not worthy of Emma Swan’s love_**.

**Three days later**

“Are you sureyou’ve got everything Robin?”

“Yes Killian, I’m afraid I do, and we can’t stall this anymore.” “Very true Robin.I’m surprised you can fit all of your stuff into that [Aston Martin] Rapide of yours”

“Well, we’ve got all the essentials; the rest is being dropped off at Regina’s in a few days.”

“Of course. I’ll notify Mrs Hudson to expect some delivery men then”

“Thanks, _mate_. I’m gonna miss you Killian, I’m not going to lie. You have to come by at Christmas at least, that is if you haven’t already moved back into Storybrooke by then”

“Maybe Robin. Just maybe.”

I waved as Robin pulled away, watching as the final remnants of my past was leaving me, just like everyone else had done. I could see Henry and Rowland in the back, waving at me with matching grins on their faces. If it weren’t for the fact that I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, I could’ve sworn that it had stopped, that I was no longer alive and alone in New York.

Perhaps I would have to work it out with Derek for me to be able to visit the happy couple later on that year.

**Yes I know I am being mean, leaving Killian in New York all on his lonesome, but fear not my avid readers, for all becomes well in the final chapter.**

**Reviews?**


	9. Oh darkness in my heart, be gone!

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Three weeks had passed since I had last seen Robin, but he had made sure to call me every couple of days to check up on me and tell me how Storybrooke was. It was nearing the end of November by now, and the fire house was getting busier and busier from various accidents, a couple of Arson attacks but nothing we couldn’t collectively handle, but they were doing a good job of keeping my mind away from Storybrooke and Emma. Derek had taking to coming to my apartment for drinks on the past few Saturday nights, often trying to ask about Storybrooke but I deflected the questions as they arose. Ever since Derek had returned from Storybrooke it had been like he was someone else- he was scheming something, something Derek would never do; for if Derek was planning something he generally couldn’t keep it secret for long- yet three weeks later he was still trying to keep something secret from me. I knew he had most likely told others at the station but this was something that he was doing and this something involved me. I made a mental note to ask him later- it was Saturday after all.

“I see you weren’t worked too hard on those cases today Jones- although it’s good that I can see your face again” Derek called from the door, taking his shoes off no doubt whilst I had just disappeared into the kitchen to put away the remnants of my dinner.

“Ha-ha Derek- although I do have to agree there was a lot more soot than usual to clear up today”

“Well hopefully that’ll be the most soot you’ll ever encounter as a fireman” I turned to face Derek, and I could see that he was hiding something behind his back- something that Monty was looking at intently.

“What’s behind your back Derek and I know it’s not alcohol- Monty doesn’t care for that” Derek chuckled to himself before pulling a large white envelope out from behind his back

“Why don’t you see for yourself” he handed me the envelope, and followed me as I went to the lounge area to open his letter- whatever it was he wanted to see my reaction as I opened it, so I could hazard a guess that it was important.

_Name: Killian L. Jones_

_Transfer from: New York 5 th Fire house_

_Transfer to: Storybrooke Fire Department_

_Commencing: 1 st December_

I stood in shock at the letter in my hands- Derek was moving me to Storybrooke. I wasn’t sure if my heart was still beating but I could feel nothing but pure joy and _hope_ in that moment- so much so that I actually hugged Derek. Then It all clicked into place- Derek had told me to take this weekend off, and today was the 28th\- meaning that I would move back to Storybrooke tomorrow.

“I was going to give you this yesterday but you left before I could. The guys are all waiting on the command so they can come and help you pack up”

“When are they thinking of coming then?”

“Now- they are all in Robin’s apartment”

“Then light the bat signal- it’s time for me to return to Storybrooke”

**24 hours later**

I had driving for well over 12 hours, stopping every once in a while so that the guys from the station could take a break (one of my team owned a van, and offered to get all my stuff to Storybrooke. At first I had questioned where I was going to live, but Derek had managed to talk to Belle and bought me a four bedroom house in the suburbs of Storybrooke. It was close to the station, the port and the town centre itself, and something was telling me that Derek and Belle had schemed for me to have a big enough house for me to have Emma and Henry over, as well as having a spare bedroom or two ( _You should make one of them into a library- that way you’d never run out of shelf space. Ha-ha, very funny_ ). Just ahead of me I could finally see the town sign, along with the scratches and dents left from Swan’s car when she first arrived in Storybrooke. _Swan_. The beauty and love of my life, I would finally be able to see her again.

Just as I passed the sign I realised I hadn’t actually called anyone to say that I was coming back, although I knew that Granny would graciously give me a room to stay in tonight, and for a few days so that I could get to work and move into my new house. When I turned into the side road that lead to Granny’s, the others kept on driving- no doubt to drop everything off at my new house (They said they’d show me where it was in the morning).

The porch light was on inside Granny’s, and I could quite clearly see Ruby behind the cash desk, she was quite clearly looking at me when I turned off the engine, and started to get a key ready. I gathered my essentials from the back seat and headed into the inn for what I hoped would not be an awkward reunion between me and the she-wolf.

“Room 7 is free, I just need your name for the booking details” Ruby called out without even looking at me, concentrating on getting the key out from what looked to be quite a bit of string.

“Killian Jones and room 7 would be great Ruby” the brunette spun around so quickly that she almost fell over herself, trying to get a good look at me.

“Killian? You could’ve called to at least say you were coming back! Everyone is going to be ecstatic! When did you decide to come back?”

“Slow down Ruby. I didn’t know me self until last night- then everyone helped me to pack up my stuff. I’m only here until my house is at a somewhat liveable standard” “Wait- you’re moving back? Permanently?”

“Yeah… my old boss had both me and Robin transferred to the fire house here- although he didn’t drop that bombshell till yesterday. I hate to be rude but I really need to crash, I have been driving for over 12 hours”

“Sure thing Hook. You may look slightly different and sound like an actual human being- but you are still Hook in this establishment!” Ruby smiled at me as I climbed up the stairs, exhaustion slowly taking over my system, I could deal with the world once I had had **some** sleep.

The next morning arrived almost as soon as I closed my eyes- and for once I didn’t want to get up at the crack of dawn, however I knew that people would either already be expecting me to be in the diner of about to enter it, so I pulled myself out of the warmth of the bed and into some respectable clothes. As I descended the stairs Granny came around the corner with a look on her face that could only be described as exasperation.

“Finally! We’ve been trying to get you up for the past half hour Hook” I flinched at my old moniker- something I could now do seeing as I was wide awake (I had been too tired to really take note of anything that Ruby said last night).

“It’s Killian, Granny. I would appreciate it if you would actually call me by my name like everyone else has been doing for the past nine and a half months” Granny looked shocked at my outburst, but then her face held naught but understanding.

“Of course- although you’re going to be correcting people for quite a while”

“So be it then” I called as I moved across the hall and towards the diner, the old woman’s gaze never leaving me alone.

As I entered the diner, an eerie silence fell on all of its occupants, each turning to stare at me as I entered the room. I decided to ignore them and headed to the bar where Ruby was already making a coffee for me.

“I didn’t manage to ask last night, but what car were you driving last night and when does it need to be returned?”

“It’s a Jaguar XE, and I never have to return it because I own it, not rent it”

“How does a fireman afford that kind of a car? I mean there is no way in hell that your salary was that big in New York”

“You’re right, it wasn’t. It was a gift from the mayor- just as Robin’s was” Ruby just looked stunned at that last piece of information, but shrugged it off when she realised that the coffee and pancakes were now ready.

As Ruby was setting the breakfast in front of me, Henry and David arrived for the Monday morning breakfast before school and work- and no doubt the lady Snow and Emma would be in soon as well.

I had nearly finished when the charming’s I saw David come over to give me handshake, or to kill me- his expression was unreadable, somewhere between joy and anger, but I couldn’t think of anything that I had done to wrong the prince.

“When did you arrive Killian? I thought you said that you’d call us when you were coming…” Henry called as he barrelled into me for a hug- he may be closer to thirteen now but sometimes all I could see was the ten year old who had found Emma in Boston just a few years ago.

“Hold on lad, I only got here last night so you haven’t missed much, and I didn’t know until Saturday night me self”

“Well I’m glad you’re back Killian. I’m guessing that you’ll be heading over to the house this morning” David cut in, and just like Derek had been, he was hiding something from me.

“Yes, I am David, although the men I was with haven’t turned up”

“Oh they did earlier- they said everything was at the house but they were having to rush back to New York” Ruby chimed in, earning a nod from both Charming and I.

“I can take you over now if you like? Then I’m sure that Emma wouldn’t mind if we quickly popped into the apartment which **you** were supposed to have moved into all those months ago” A small smile graced my face as I thought of Emma, and seeing her again- but that was when my crippling self-doubt decided to rear its ugly head and whisper that I shouldn’t see Emma because I wasn’t worthy of her affections. David had seemingly read my mind and told me that there was nobody better suited to being with his daughter than me.

The house Derek had bought for me was bigger than I had expected, and in an area of Storybrooke that was more inhabited by families than a vengeful pirate- how people were actually letting me move into this area was a miracle to me, although I wasn’t sure whether it was Derek or rather Belle who chose the placement of the house.

It was a typical family house, large white hallway, a large lounge and dining room conjoined together, with a kitchen and pantry to the back of the house. I had been given keys to the basement and loft already, but I decided I would just look around the main areas of the house first. Upstairs wasn’t as openly planned as the downstairs, but there were two bathrooms (one family bathroom and an en suite for the master bedroom), the four bedrooms (the master room just happened to look over towards the sea, something you could just about see in the distance- this house was almost certainly chosen by Belle) were spacious and furnished much to my surprise- apparently the dwarves and Marco had already decided to gather the furniture that I didn’t already own and fill out the house for me, but thankfully they had left all the boxes for me to unpack. I would have gone into all four bedrooms but one was locked and David was refusing to give me the key.

“What is with you David? And what is behind the door?”

“You’ll understand later Killian. As for now we are going to go to Emma’s apartment and you are going to reunite with Emma and then you are staying there until you both have caught up with each other”

“But I…”

“I already told the fire station that you wouldn’t be in until next week. Your transfer may start today but you are not starting till next week” I promptly shut up after that comment, knowing that he had planned something for me and that it he wasn’t going to let me do anything else until I had completed this plan he had conjured up in the short time from when he was in New York to when he returned. He smiled as he realised that I was now more or less backed into the metaphorical corner and would have to do his bidding whether I wished it or not. “Now we have that out of the way- I’m going to call Emma and tell her that **we** are coming over to her apartment. Now don’t go anywhere”

“I don’t think I could if I wanted to, prince” David’s laugh filled the empty hallways, and seemingly reverberated off my chest. I wanted to feel his joy, but I could still feel my darkness around me, a darkness that not too long ago nearly took my life- and it was still bushing against the edges of my mind; keeping the self-doubt in and any love I felt feel worthless. I hid my unhappiness from David, but more from habit than not thinking of the prince as my friend. What I wasn’t aware of though was that David had kept out of my sight without breaking his line of it- and he could see exactly how I felt about life when I thought no-one was watching. No doubt Robin had warned him of it.

“Emma is waiting for us, although she was annoyed that didn’t call first to say that you were coming back”

“Yeah, well she’s not going to be the only one. I had no time to call; I was too busy trying to get here as soon as possible instead. It wasn’t until I was about an hour away that I realised that I hadn’t called anyone, and by that time it was late at night and I knew for a fact that none of you would be conscious enough to get my message.”

“As far as excuses come, that’s not too bad. Just explain that to her when you get there and she won’t kill you” “Wait… What!”

David had left nearly an hour ago, leaving me standing in the house that was now my own. He had told me to wait for Emma or himself to call me to tell me to come over and see the love of my life once again. But instead of anticipation, all I could feel was fear. Fear that Emma would throw me away after all this time of pining for her, or that maybe she had moved on. Or maybe she would tell me that she never loved me at all. At this moment any possibility was indeed possible- but all the possibilities that my mind had come up with always ended up with having a broken heart whilst Emma and everyone stood there unaffected, or laughing at my heart’s demise. I had practically been watching my phone whilst unpacking my belongings- and it seemed that the habits of being a pirate and naval man were really quite clear as I unpacked what I had. Even with everything unpacked the house was still sparse and empty, the halls silently echoing, laughing at my loneliness. The pictures in the hall gazed at me with empty joy, and the floors wished that I wouldn’t stand upon them. I could feel my mind becoming lost within the walls and maze that had become my abode. Never once did the voices quieten, forever mocking me as I walked aimlessly around the kitchen.

_Maybe they forgot about you- they already have!_ The voices provided a constant argument, and I was beginning to wonder if it was wise that I returned to Storybrooke after all. That was when I heard it. The ringtone I had set for Swan’s number- ** _I want you back_** rang through the halls, and for once the devil on my shoulder was being silent. I could feel warmth growing in my cold heart, something that almost resembled joy just at hearing that song.

“Swan?” I said like a silent prayer as I picked up the phone, not believing that she would wish to see me again.

“Hey Killian… Can you come over now? My dad’s gone and I really need to talk to you about something” the line went dead as soon as Emma had said what she needed to say, and my heart stopped in my chest. Her words were toneless, and hard- nothing like the Swan who I had known and loved. But I could never deny her wishes- so I grabbed my keys and left to go to the apartment that I would have been living in for months had Maleficent stepped in and destroyed what was left of my life just to spite Emma and her family.

I knew the way to Emma’s apartment like the back of my hand from thinking about it every time I closed my eyes at night, or one of the first nights I spent in New York I drew out a map of Emma’s apartment and Storybrooke in general- of course I kept it hidden from anyone and everyone who looked for something regarding my past.

However much I had wished for this moment to come around, for me to be reunited with the only woman that my heart has ever beat for- but the fear created from our distance was threatening to swallow me whole and because of that I nearly drove passed the turning to the parking area that was connected to Emma’s apartment.

“You look like hell mate” Robin’s voice sounded from the shadows, his posture sure and strong. After all the time we had spent together, Robin knew when I needed back-up, and today just happened to be a day when I needed him close by to act as a safety net almost. “You know she’s been as back as you when it comes to missing and longing for you?” the confusion on my face must have been evident for Robin just simply laughed and told me to go up to Emma so that I could see what he had meant.

The door was newer than I remembered- although it wouldn’t have surprised me if the original door was destroyed the night I took the curse for Emma and Henry by Maleficent. As I entered the corridor that lead to Swan’s home, I could see quite clearly that nothing in this area had changed, despite Swan’s insistence that it would be changing very soon if she had any word in it when she had first moved in- but against the floral patterns I could practically see the heated goodnight kisses, the promise of something beautiful between us. Maybe that was why Emma had never changed the tacky wallpaper for something more modern. The door to Emma’s apartment was open, far enough to make it obvious that it was her doing but not small enough to be considered a ‘break-in in progress’.

Even though I had had over nine months of preparation for seeing her again, the sight that greeted me was one I could never have expected. My own angel was standing just across the room from me, the tears in my eyes were mirrored in her own, and together we came to form an embrace that almost felt like we were melting together, being so close that nothing could ever tear us apart.

“I’ve missed you Killian” Emma was able to make out in-between tears, a hopeful smile dancing on her lips

“And I you, my saviour” I knew now that was quite easily one of the cheesiest remarks I could have made to Swan, but she just seemed happy to be in my arms again- now **that** was a good night.

“So pirate… David has been telling me that you became a hero in your time away from here”

“I’m not quite a hero like you are but...”

“You are a hero Killian, but you are still my Captain and I am not going to allow you do to any heroics without telling me about them”

“You’d be right there beside me”

“I’m not so sure about that one actually…” Emma glanced towards the floor and I pulled away a bit so that I could get a better look at her.

Her golden halo of hair was longer now, even as it was tied back in a ponytail, and her eyes were brighter. She had gained a little bit of weight, and her breasts were bigger- _wait… Highly emotional, gaining weight, larger breast size, not to mention the fact that she doesn’t look like she had slept in over a week…._

“No…”

“What? Killian what is it what’s wrong!”

“D-Did you h-have a child in my absence?” To be fair I was surprised that I hadn’t considered it before; it had been enough time, not to mention that night just after I regained my heart. Emma’s eyes and features filled with confusion and wonder, then to playful annoyance

“How did you know? Did Robin or David tell you?” A small but genuine smile broke out upon my angels face, and I could finally feel the darkness being pushed from my mind.

“Nobody but you my love- even though most may not have noticed the change in your body… well let’s just say I committed it to memory whilst I was in New York” That earned a well-earned but playful slap on the shoulder and a smile from my love.

“Would you like to meet him then?”

“It’s a boy?” I could feel my heart soaring out of my chest already- I knew there was no way in hell that I would get through this without losing my ability to form coherent words. I knew there would be plenty of days that I was happy that I regained my hand again- and today it meant that I would be able to hold my own son.

“I hope you don’t mind… but I kinda named him already…”

“I’ll be happy with whatever you have called him Emma- for he has already stolen my heart.” It wasn’t a lie- looking down at the small bundle in the crib below me I could feel nothing but pride and love- of course the self-doubt and loathing were still there, but they were smaller, quieter than the small breaths coming from my son

“Liam David jones” My heart officially stopped in that moment- and I’m not meaning from joy, I actually collapsed upon hearing my brother’s name again. I came around to a worried looking Emma and David crouched over me.

“…llian! Oh my god thank god you are alright”

“What happened” I asked, even though I knew full well what had happened

“It seems your time with Gold left some repercussions on your heart, and when Emma told you Liam’s name your heart couldn’t cope and you fell unconscious “now there was something I had ever thought of. Although to be fair it would explain why every so often it would feel like my heart was being crushed, although I could never tell whether it was literal or metaphorical.

“Well I think we can sort that out. But for now- I think I’m quite content with just staying here with you”

**Ta da! Killian is finally home and where he belongs. Since the epilogue isn’t written yet… I want YOU to write what you would like to happen to Killian in the epilogue- although just imagine set a year in the future because I have so many ideas and I don’t know which to use.**

**Comments + Kudos please?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello My little owls! It’s the last chapter today- and soon there will be an epilogue too. I’m almost sorry to see this story finish but, oh well. I have managed to bring this story up to date but I may not be posting again for a couple weeks because I have been busy with school work and my other stories, but the epilogue is coming soon, so do not fear!


	10. Epilogue

Two years had passed both men had returned to Storybrooke, but neither had lost what they had gained from New York. A week before Christmas Derek and a couple guys would come to Storybrooke for an early Christmas with their friends before returning to New York for their party. Killian and Robin had both become the Captain’s in Storybrooke’s small fire department, and the world could now come into the small town in Maine (it had become somewhat a summer destination for city slickers), it was a wonder that there had been no more magical disturbance although some wondered if there was actually any magic left, and they were partially right- for there was no more dark magic left after Rumpelstiltskin managed to nearly blow himself up, leaving only minor amounts of light magic left in this world.

KJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJ

Ever since I had returned to Storybrooke, my heart had felt at peace with the world. Yes, I still had to run around putting out fires and fill out paper work, but this time I had a family awaiting me every night when I returned home, including a certain dog (I couldn’t leave Monty behind- not that anyone in Storybrooke minded), a boisterous two year old, a teenager, and the most loving fiancée in the world (it had taken us a while but we got there in the end) and if I was lucky a good book to read.

It was finally Friday, meaning that I would have the weekend to relax with my family and potentially get some more planning done for the wedding; but as I walked through the door Liam crashed into my legs yelling “Papa!” If it was any other child, I would have told them off or taken them off my legs, but when it came to Liam neither Swan or I could deny him anything. Little Liam was practically a carbon copy of my brother, all except his hair wasn’t as curly or as dark a blonde as Liam’s.

Emma and I had decided against telling Liam about the fact that his father and pretty much all his friends actually were story book characters; because it would only confuse him and any other children we may have together. Henry wasn’t too fond of that decision but once I and his mother had explained it to him he understood why we were doing what we were doing.

Henry himself was another matter altogether however. Even at 15 he was proving to be a tall lad, and he was as tall as me as I speak, however I am guessing that he was going to be even taller than Baelfire at full height (Emma however was hoping that he would stop growing however so that she wouldn’t have to look up to see her son). Henry’s sweeping brown hair now resembled mine in a way, but he had never lost his love for all things magical, his heart of the truest believer shining through more and more each passing day. Since Henry had been made the author he had surprisingly made an effort to improve his English and History skills as well as his other subjects (although getting him to do his homework was still a bit of a challenge), something which always pleased Regina.

Henry spent very little time at Regina’s nowadays; meaning that whenever she did see him she would usually burst into tears at how proud she was of him and Robin would just look on thinking _not this again_. Regina and Robin now had three children (Rowland, Henry and Rain) and a fourth that was nearly here. It turns out Regina’s first pregnancy had been an accident of magic, for before she had cast the dark curse she had made it so she could never have any children, and after Rain came along she decided she wanted more children with Robin- so when Merlin came to Storybrooke to defeat the dark one, they asked him to make her fertile again. So here they were a year later with another child about to come into the world any day now. Needless to say Henry was staying away from the Locksley household for a while longer; for unlike some Henry actually valued his sleep.

After the dark curse was defeated and Regina had gotten her wish, Merlin had summoned me up to his house to talk about some of the things that had passed since we had last seen each other (for we had been childhood friends but his magic forced him to leave me behind) and when he discovered that my heart still wasn’t right after Rumplestiltskin squeezed it so many times, he took matters into his own hands and fixed me, on the condition that he was able to meet Liam. Which I was planning on doing anyway. And as per usual; Liam stole his heart, just like every other person who met him.

Glancing down at the small child at my feet, I couldn’t help but see my brother in him.

“Have you been a good lad for your mum Liam?” I said as I picked my son of my legs and into my arms

“Wes Papa! We went to Henwee’s castle and we pwayed hide an seek!” I couldn’t help but smile at my son’s enthusiasm, or his inability to say certain sounds, but none the less, my heart swelled three sizes whenever I was with my family. Today was no different.

“How are we today, my love?” Emma asked as I strolled into the kitchen with Liam

“Not too busy; just a few minor calls. Nothing that shouldn’t be expected in January. Although… Robin was wondering if we should all meet in the woods in an hour or so”

“Why would he be saying that?”

“A certain tradition of ours that involves this weather and this month”

“Ah… Yes, let’s get this one fed and to Granny’s and we’ll pick up Henry whilst we’re there”

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I smiled as I led the merry men and Rowland out into the clearing in the woods, for as a rule it was duly noted that there were traditions between me and Killian from our time in New York, even if we weren’t there at the time we had agreed to have them.

When we had been under Derek’s wing, the others had told us of the Fire house’s annual snow ball fight in January; and even though Killian never managed to attend to their fight, it had never stopped us from hosting our own here in Storybrooke.

“If I were you lot I would start making yor defences- Hooks got no mercy at this game” Will called out to the others; some shuddering at the memory of how Killian had won and then proceeded to put snow down most of their coats.

Fortunately for my entertainment, Killian, Emma and Henry took almost no time at all to arrive and they already had snow balls in hand, ready to strike the unsuspecting men in the snow.

I knew in that moment for the both of us; we had never been happier (other than when we each had our own true loves kiss with our respective loves, but that’s a story for another day).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, but I have had serious writers block. But now its all over, so, enjoy!


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